Combination hand towel and pot holder assembly

ABSTRACT

A combination hand towel and pot holder assembly for use by an amateur cook or professional chef, the assembly having an elongate, cloth web formed of an absorbent material, the ends of the elongate web formed with pockets of the same absorbent material, the pockets formed on the same side of the web, the opposing side of the web, proximate the formed pockets would be overlaid with a heat resistant material layer, such as neoprene. The elongate web of the assembly would be of sufficient length to allow the assembly to be worn over the shoulder of the amateur cook or professional chef, the absorbent web material serving as a hand towel, and the terminus pockets in combination with the heat resistant material, such as neoprene, or a silicon compound, serve as potholders for the movement or transport of hot pots, pans or dishes. The assembly when not in use by the chef can be folded such that the heat resistant materials in the form of neoprene can serve as a trivet for hot plates, casseroles, or pots or pans.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

Applicant claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/956,419, filed Jun. 10, 2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates a cooking aid for cooks and chefs, and in particular, to a combination hand towel which incorporates a pair of pot holders, the combination of which is designed to be worn over the shoulder of the cook or chef so that it is easily accessible and not misplaced, the combination hand towel and pot holders also being foldable for use as a trivet for small or large casserole dishes.

2. Description of the Prior Art

When preparing a meal, amateur cooks and even professional chefs must perform many different tasks, sometimes simultaneously, or sometimes in a specified sequence in Order to bring the required utensils in the form of pots and pans to the right location and temperature, while simultaneously preparing the food stuffs in accordance with recipes by using a plurality of different hand held instruments to prepare the food stuffs. The amateur cook or professional chef often finds it necessary to wipe his hands on a hand towel while performing these myriad tasks and the amateur cook or professional chef also requires the use of hot pads in order to move frying pans, pots, pans, and casserole dishes from place to place, be it on top of the stove or from within the oven to the serving table or to the counter top. These kitchen aids in the form of the hand towel and the pot holders are available to the amateur cook and the professional chef, but they are normally located in the counter top where all of the food preparation is taking place, and where all of the utensils and the pots and pans are stationed prior to their actual use. Therefore, the hand towel and pot holders required by the amateur cook or professional chef are not always easily accessible or identified because of the many other items occupying the same counter or preparation space.

Applicant has solved this problem by combining a hand towel with a pair of pot holders, and forming such combination from a fabric which allows the combination to be worn over the shoulder of the amateur cook or professional chef such that there is a frictional adherence to the shoulder maintaining the combination hand towel and pot holders in shape, and providing immediate and easy access to the items by the amateur cook or professional chef when required. When not in use by the cook or chef, the combination hand towel and pot holders can be folded to serve as a trivet for a small pot or even a large casserole dish.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide for a combination hand towel with incorporated pot holders, which can be easily positioned on the shoulder of an amateur cook or professional chef, providing ease of accessibility to the combination either as a hand towel or as a pot holder for transferring hot pans, dishes or the like.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel hand towel and pot holder combination which allows the user to use the item as a hand towel for cleaning one's hands, or as a single pot holder for engaging a hot pan or dish, or as a double pot holder for lifting large casserole dishes and the like.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel combination hand towel with pot holders which when not in use by the amateur cook or professional chef, may be folded in such a fashion so as to serve as a trivet for either single dishes or large casserole dishes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A combination hand towel and pot holder assembly for use by an amateur cook or professional chef, the assembly having an elongate, cloth web formed of an absorbent material, the ends of the elongate web formed with pockets of the same absorbent material, the pockets formed on the same side of the web, the opposing side of the web, proximate the formed pockets would be overlaid with a heat resistant material layer, such as neoprene. The elongate web of the assembly would be of sufficient length to allow the assembly to be worn over the shoulder of the amateur cook or professional chef, the absorbent web material serving as a hand towel, and the terminus pockets in combination with the heat resistant material, such as neoprene, serve as potholders for the movement or transport of hot pots, pans or dishes. The assembly when not in use by the chef can be folded such that the heat resistant materials in the form of neoprene can serve as a trivet for hot plates, casseroles, or pots or pans.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent, particularly when taken in light of the following illustrations wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the towel and pot holder assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the towel and pot holder assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along Plane 3-3 of FIG. 1 of the towel and pot holder combination of the present invention; and

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are illustrative of the manner in which the towel and pot holder assembly is worn and utilized by the cook or chef.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a top view of the combination towel and pot holder assembly 10 of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a bottom view; and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along Plane 3-3 of FIG. 1.

The towel and pot holder assembly combination 10 is formed of a cloth web 12 formed of a flexible, absorbent material. Cloth web 12 is elongate in design having two longitudinal edges 14 and 16 and two terminus edges 18 and 20. On the first side, or top side 22, cloth web 12 is formed with two pockets 24 and 26 at its terminal edges 18 and 20. These pockets can be formed of separate absorbent cloth materials secured to the cloth web 12, but preferably would be extensions of the cloth web 12 which had merely been folded back upon the cloth web 12 and secured to form the pockets.

The hand pockets 24 and 26 easily allow the cook or chef to slip a hand into the pocket between the cloth web 12 and the top of the pocket 24A or 26A. The cook or chef can insert one hand into one of the pockets in order to lift a single frying pan, or if necessary, the chef can slip one hand into each pocket 24 and 26 in order to grasp a larger hot serving dish or the like. All of the peripheral edges 14, 16, 18, and 20, as well as pocket edges 28 and 30 of the combination towel and pot holder assembly would be secured by seam binding, either being sewn in position or adhesed into position.

FIG. 2 illustrates the second or underside 32 of the cloth web 12. Proximate terminal edges 18 and 20 there is secured to the underside 32 of cloth web 12, a pair of heat resistant pads 34 and 36 for contact with the hot handles of either a pot, a pan, a sauté dish, or a casserole dish. These heat resistant pads 34 and 36 are positioned on the second or underside 32 of cloth web 12 in substantial alignment with the pockets 24 and 26 formed on the top or first side 22 of cloth web 12. The heat resistant pads 34 and 36 can be of any suitable heat resistant material, but should have a flexible quality so as to allow the cook or chef to grip firmly whatever type of pot, pan, or dish he may be lifting or transferring. Neoprene would be one example of a suitable material, as would fiber reinforced polymer, heat resistant cloth or silicon compound. The heat resistant pads 34 and 36 would be secured to the second side or underside of the cloth web, by any suitable means such as being sewn, seam bound, or adhesed.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 1 along Plane 3-3 so as to give to the reader an understanding of the manner in which the hands of the user can be slipped into either one of the pockets or both of the pockets simultaneously depending upon the size of the pot, pan, dish or casserole being transferred. The hands would be inserted such that the palm of the hand faces the cloth web 12 so that when grasping the hot pan or hot handle, the hand is protected from the heat by the combination of cloth web 12 and heat resistance paid 34 and 36 which would be in actual contact with the hot handle (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

The length of the cloth web is one of choice. The absorbent material from which it is constructed has a certain frictional quality to it which allows it to hang loosely over the shoulder of the cook or chef with one of the pockets and one of the hot pads positioned proximate the rear torso of cook or chef, while the other pocket and hot pad hangs proximate the front torso of the cook or chef. In this configuration (See FIG. 4), the cook or chef has access to the absorbent towel portion in order to readily and easily access same for wiping his or her hands. The cook or chef also has easy access to one of the pockets and one of the hot pads hanging on the front torso for manipulating and/or transferring a single sauté dish or pot or pan having a single handle and easily manipulated with one hand. If both hands are required to transfer the pot or casserole dish, the cook or chef merely removes the combination towel and hot pad from his shoulder and engages both pockets with one hand each to transfer such a pot or dish.

In this configuration, not only is an absorbent towel readily accessible to the cook or chef, but also one or more hot pads are readily accessible to the cook or chef such that the cook or chef is not distracted from the cooking tasks which he is performing.

Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the combination towel and hot pad assembly when worn over the shoulder with the pocket 28 facing outwardly, provides a receptacle in the form of pocket 24 in which the cook or chef can place a recipe or small cooking utensils, such as a thermometer, spoon or the like, while preparing the meal.

FIG. 5 illustrates the combination towel and hot pad assembly being utilized by the cook or chef in order to transfer hot pots or pans from one location to the other within the kitchen by slidably inserting his hands into the pockets formed at the ends of the towel and hot pad assembly allowing the hot pad portion of the assembly to contact the hot pan or plate.

Another design characteristic unique to the combination towel and hot pad assembly allows for its utility transformation into a trivet if not required as a towel and hot pad transfer assembly. FIG. 6 would be illustrative of the hand towel and hot pad assembly in which various folds could be made to arrive at a folded cloth assembly in which the hot pads 34 and 36 face upwardly on a counter or table top such that they could support a hot pot or hot casserole.

While the present invention has been described with respect to the exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications or changes can be achieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore it is manifestly intended that the invention be limited only by the scope of the claims and the equivalence thereof. 

I claim:
 1. A chef's accessory for use in the kitchen, the accessory the form of a combination hand towel and pot holder, the accessory comprising: an elongate fibrous cloth web defined by two longitudinal edges and opposing terminal edges defining a first side and a second side of said accessory; a pair of pockets formed on said first side of said accessory, said pockets formed at said terminal edges of said fibrous cloth web, said pockets secured about said terminal edges and said portion of said longitudinal edges to form a pocket capable of receiving the hand of the user; a pair of heat resistant pads secured to said second side of said fibrous cloth web, proximate said terminal edges and in opposing alignment with said pockets formed on said first side of said fibrous cloth web.
 2. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1 wherein said elongate fibrous cloth web is of sufficient length to be worn over the shoulder of said user for ease of access during the preparation of food.
 3. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1 wherein said fibrous cloth web and said pockets are formed of a absorbent material for drying of a user's hands.
 4. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1 wherein when said chef's accessory is worn over the shoulder by said user, a pocket is presented in the front of the user for the temporary storage of cooking accessories.
 5. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1 wherein said hot pads formed on said second side of said fibrous cloth web are formed from a heat resistant, flexible surface, which is heat resistant and provides a gripping surface.
 6. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1 wherein said hot pads formed on said second side of said fibrous cloth web are formed from a heat resistant, flexible reinforced polymer, which is heat resistant and provides a gripping surface.
 7. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1 wherein said hot pads formed on said second side of said fibrous cloth web are formed from a heat resistant, flexible heat resistant cloth, which is heat resistant and provides a gripping surface.
 8. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1 wherein said hot pads formed on said second side of said fibrous cloth web are formed from a heat resistant, flexible heat resistant silicon compound, which is heat resistant and provides a gripping surface.
 9. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1 wherein said accessory may be utilized with one hand pocket for positioning skillets having a single handle.
 10. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1 wherein said accessory pockets may be used simultaneously for both hands for gripping and transporting larger pots or casseroles.
 11. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1 wherein said accessory can be folded in a manner such that said hot pads are positioned upwardly on a surface and act as a trivet for the support of a hot casserole or pan and protection to the underlying surface. 